The Finish Line
by Luxillume
Summary: Rey is one of the top superbike racers in the country, until Kylo Ren and the First Order Racing crew take that from her. With the help of Organa Racing, she just might have a chance at taking her title back.
Rey put her hand up to cut the sun's glare as she watched Poe park the trailer in it's usual slot at the track and beamed at the new Organa Racing logo splashed across the side. Poe turned the truck off and he and Finn jumped out to come stand beside her. Finn put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed.

"You made it!"

"We...we made it." She corrected. Rey couldn't stop smiling. She'd worked long and hard to earn respect on the track and to finally have a big corporate racing sponsor was something she'd only dreamed of, let alone Organa, which was a subsidiary of the largest racing corporation ever, Skywalker Industries. When the contracts had been signed and the MotoRacing article chronicaling her journey from building her first bike from spare parts she'd scrounged from Plutt's salvage yard as a homeless teen to being one of the top superbike racers had come out, Rey had bought all the copies her local bookstore had. She kept a picture of that first bike in the trailer for luck.

In her late teens, she'd gotten a job at Poe's bike shop during the week, and kept racing on the weekends. She'd made a name for herself on the local tracks, and that was where they'd met Finn. He'd actually worked for a competitor's team, but Poe had grabbed him as he'd stormed out of a race and offered him a position. Soon after that, she was dominating on the national tracks as well. If she won today, it would be her eighth consecutive win, and close to setting an industry record.

Leia Organa had offered her a full crew, but Rey liked to keep it simple on the local races, and it was just herself, Poe, Finn and her friend Jessika to unload and get ready. Her canopy was erected against the trailer, with a couple chairs and a cooler filled with mostly water and soda, but also a few beers for her crew. Inside the trailer, Poe put her orange and white Yamaha BB8 model up on the stand and started the standard mechanical checklist while she and Jessika walked the track. It was a familiar track but if time permitted, Rey always walked them before the race. Finn handled the business side of things, fielding press because Rey hated doing interviews of any kind before, only permitting them after. Jessika was the glue that kept everyone sane, making sure everyone had food and water and whatever supplies they needed.

After he was done with the mechanics, it was Poe's habit to walk the lot on race days to see who was there and get a vibe for the day. Most of the time it was the usual flurry of pre-race activities, the sound of wrenches clanking and the smell of motor oil and tire rubber, but today had a particularly tense feeling and as he got to the opposite end of the lot, he quickly spotted why. The First Order crew was parked there, with their massive black semi and the accompanying RV's, all with the same red and black logo. He didnt have to look to know that trailer would be filled with the top-of-the-line bikes, and more crew than two riders could ever possibly need. He also knew enough about the FO that Rey being backed by Organa would put a target on her back moreso than any other team.

Finn didnt have to do more than look at his face when he came back to guess what was going on.

"They're here, aren't they?" He said glumly.

Poe nodded. "Yeah, buddy."

The two of them looked at each other- they both knew what they were possibly getting into when Rey accepted Organa's offer, but they both knew she had no idea. They could only protect her for so long before she needed to know. Poe trudged up the ramp to where Rey was wiggling into her leathers.

"Hey, kid- I gotta talk to you real quick."

"What's up?"

"First Order is here. Whoever they have riding, I want you to watch out for them, okay?"

She nodded. She didnt know all the details, but she knew Poe had prior interactions with the First Order team that hadn't ended well. She wanted to believe everyone was on the moral up and up, and that corruption didnt happen everywhere, but Rey's early years had taught her better than that. FO were crooked, and if Poe was wary of them, she would be too.

"Here's the thing. FO and Skywalker Industries...they.." Poe made a pretty clear hand gesture.

"They might single you out for it."

Rey made a face that Poe instantly recognized as her "bring it" face and he clapped her on the shoulder.

" I know you're tough but just watch out, okay?"

"Got it."

She finished tying her shoes and zipped her leathers. It was time.

She'd drawn pole position and her little crew stood around her with Finn holding an umbrella over them while they waited for the other nineteen riders to get into position behind her. She worked her gloves on, humming to herself. This was where most riders got nervous, but this was where Rey found herself floating in a focused, almost meditative state. She heard a bike revving just behind her and turned to see a black and red hayabusa in third position with a tall rider in all black leathers. The only other color on him was the chrome accents near his matte-black visor that anyone had yet to see him lift. Kylo Ren. He never did any press, usually arriving just before warm-up and leaving immediately after. He was staring at her, and she pointedly sniffed and turned away, although she could still feel the weight of his gaze settle between her shoulders. Poe grimaced after following her line of sight.

"Definitely look out for that one." He said, barely a growl. He'd been hoping it would be Phasma today, but the mostly chromed-out bike she rode was nowhere to be seen. Phasma was easier to deal with. This was only the second time Rey had raced with Kylo, but he rode recklessly, cutting people off and sometimes forcing them to brake to avoid contact. He seemed obnoxious and arrogant and she was not going to give him her attention. Her objective was to get as far out ahead of him as possible and stay there, let the riders further back deal with him until he disqualified himself with some inevitable stupid move.

The red flag came up and her crew stepped to the sidelines as the hum of the bikes revving grew louder. Rey flipped her visor down, gave her bike a habitual pat, and shot off with the green light. Everything behind her fell away as she raced down the straightaway, then leaned into the first turn, the slider on her knee hitting tarmac with the lean. A couple turns in and she's in her zen place-she loves this more than anything else, the speed, the pulsing of the engine between her thighs, the smell of the leathers. For the first eight laps she is on her own and in the lead, and then she sees that damn hayabusa out of the corner of her eye. He's pacing her, and that happens for another few laps before he actively starts cutting into her turn space, forcing her to go wider. It's a fight from there on, and she becomes very aware of the fact that he's chosing to stay with her instead of taking the lead. It's blatant harassment, and Rey won't stand for it. Fuck him. A little sooner than she safely should, she accelerates coming out of the turn into the last straightaway. The front end comes up off the track, the back tire shimmies dangerously for just a second, then she's flying past him down the straightaway and across the finish line to the roar of the crowd in the stands.

She lets off the throttle immediately, her heart hammering in her chest. Shimmies turn into wobbles and wobbles turn into crashes, and she's very lucky. When she pulls into the winners position, her hands are still shaking but when she sees the elated smiles of Jessika and Finn and Poe, she stuffs everything down. She won, and that's what matters. Cameras and recorders are shoved at her, and she does her post-race interviews with smiles and laughs, then goes with her little crew to load up. The First Order crew is already gone, and once everything it packed way and BB8 is loaded in the trailer, Poe claps her on the back.

"C'mon kid. We're gonna take you out."

Rey groans—Poe works hard but plays harder, and she is one hundred percent sure she can't keep up with him, but she can't resist the offer. They have a day off between races to recover, at least. She looks at Finn.

"For a little while, okay?"

Finn nodds gravely and winks at Poe.

"Sure. A little while."


End file.
